Jamie Parsons: Selling Dark Horse, Fending Off Fake Buyers, and Solo Agent Success

In 2005, a 15-year-old girl walked into a timber frame recording studio on 10 acres outside Franklin, Tennessee, and cut three songs for her first album. Nobody there thought much of it. The owner says he met her maybe once or twice the whole time she was there and never gave it a second thought. That girl was Taylor Swift. That studio is called Darkhorse. Before we start, a few quick words from the people who make the show possible, which is a fancy way of saying they pay for the microphone.

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Go to checkmatepromo.com. Same discount code. Own it. 10X Search. Now, 10X Search is why my name comes up when somebody asks Chatterclaw who should sell their house in Portland. They'll run a free market visibility audit for you and show you where you actually rank. They only take one per metro, so get to them before your competition does. Go to 10xarch.com/own it. That's the ad. Let's get into it. called Darkhorse. Dolly Parton recorded there. So did Neil Diamond, Reva McIntyre, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Shawn Menddees.

And right now, the whole estate, the studio, the manor, the party barn, 10 acres along the West Harpath River, is on the market for $24 million. My guest today is the agent holding that listing. Her name is Jamie Parsons, and she's been selling real estate for about 30 years. If you want to understand what kind of person she is, listen to how she got started. She wasn't an agent. She was a freelance production coordinator for TV commercials in LA. And on her days off, she'd go house hunting for herself.

Not casually, obsessively, every Sunday open house. And when she found a house she loved that wasn't for sale, she'd write a note, stick it in the mailbox, and ask if they'd sell it anyway. Eventually, she looked around and realized she was working harder than most of the licensed agents she was meeting. So, she got her own license, mostly so she could put the commission toward her own down payment. The house she ended up with was an earthquake damaged foreclosure 1928 Spanish revival which was totally stripped including the kitchen sink.

She put it back together herself because there was no money to pay anybody. Then she held an open house just to see what would happen and it sold that day over asking. She even picked up a client at that same open house and sold them a home a month later. Needless to say, she has never worked another day in TV production. Today she's at Compass. She lives in Leapers Fork and she specializes in luxury farms, land, and legacy estates, plus the ultra luxury end of Nashville, Franklin, and Brentwood.

Her two headline listings tell you the whole range of this business. One is Darkhorse, the river, the acreage, and a piece of country music history at 24 million. She is also co-listing the Grand Penthouse at the Four Seasons in downtown Nashville. 40 stories up, 5,000 ft, an Italian marble fireplace that floats in the middle of the room. $33.5 million. That is the most expensive home for sale in the Nashville area. And if it closes near Ask, it's a county record. She's doing all of it as a solo agent, no team.

And she's still flipping houses on the side. She's been doing that since 1994. She's doing all of it as a solo agent, no team. And she's still flipping houses on the side, which she's been doing since 1994. Oh, and she has stories. She's got one about moving graves. She's got another one about a seller who died 20 minutes before signing while the buyer was already on the road with a moving truck. We're getting to both. Jamie, welcome to the Own It podcast. >> Thank you. You brought me down memory lane there.

>> This is This is like This I tell this story. It's like this is your life, Jamie. >> That's what I felt like. Like, oh [clears throat] yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember that. >> It's an awesome story. So, uh I hope you enjoy hearing it. >> I did. I did. That makes me feel old. >> Awesome. So, um, you got into this business by putting notes in strangers mailboxes on your days off from a production job. >> Yeah. >> Tell us, what were you actually chasing back then?

Was it the houses themselves or was it something about the hunt itself? >> The houses themselves. I love houses. I mean, that's I thought, "Oh, I would love to flip a house." Had no idea how to do it. I had zero intention of getting into real estate. And you know, when it came down to it, I I there were neighborhoods I would absolutely canvas and I wanted to buy a house and I couldn't afford it. And so I'm like, "All right, well, hey, I'm on hiatus.

I'll get my license." Um, you know, save the 20,000 in commission or whatever it was going to be. And um, yeah, just knocked on doors. Like I didn't know that agents did that. I had no idea until I actually went to real estate school did I realize that that's what you're supposed to do as an agent. So, I just winged it. It came naturally, I suppose. >> Naturally to create the inventory. >> Yeah.

[laughter] >> You know what I love is I'm yet to talk to an an extremely successful person in real estate who has said, "Oh, my plan in the entire time was to get into real estate." >> Was get in. >> Yeah. I'm I'm yet to talk to a single person who said that. No. No, like nobody nobody imagined that they were going to end up doing this. And I love hearing that journey and and you know what they were doing before.

So, it's fascinating >> and I had no intentions of staying in it after getting that first house and then like you said, held the open house, got a client, you know, just kind of hit it off and they were looking for something else and I still had my license and I was on a bad job in production. I'm like, h, you know, sure, I'll try to make a little more money. And then it just sort of snowballed and then we bought another house and then flipped that and just continued on. >> I love that. So, so about that that first house.

>> Uh you had said that you held an open house just to see what would happen >> and then you know obviously that that that guy you the client that you just mentioned. So 30 years later what do you know about open houses that most agents still get wrong? >> They'll get wrong. Um, I don't know that they get wrong. Follow-up is everything. I love open houses. I still sit open houses. Uh, if I have a listing, a lot of my listings won't let me have an open house, but I love sitting them. And I love people.

I love um just talking to them. You know, my intention in holding the open house is to sell the house, not necessarily pick up a client, but if it's my listing. Um, but just keeping in touch. That's the whole thing. And they may not be they may be a neighbor coming in, but they may have a friend who is looking in a year and so you keep in touch with that neighbor. It's just keeping in touch and creating the relationships. It's all relationships. I'm sure everybody says that, but it's true. That's what it is. >> Yeah.

So, I get the impression that you this it just suits you. you're like you're naturally good at open houses and I find that a lot of people who uh do well at them, they're not even sure how they're doing it because they're just being themselves. Is that how you feel? >> Yes. And I also feel that I'm very bad at most of the other things. I just won't call. I I will not knock on a door. I just feel so awkward and I probably look awkward and sound awkward, but open houses is easy and fun for me. I really like them.

Well, it sounds like, you know, obviously, I mean, maybe there are some people that can do everything at a really high level. Um, I have not met one yet, but I feel like everybody has I feel like everybody has their thing. >> That they enjoy and that they get success from and and it sounds like this is your thing. >> And when somebody's feeling whatever that thing is, that's what they should lean into and they'll have success. >> Yeah, I agree. I agree.

So, in uh in 2008, you drove out to Leapers Fork and it hit you, but knowing a place is right is different from moving a 30-year business there. So, walk me through the years between falling in love with this place and actually being able to make a living in it. >> Well, that's a long story. I'll try to make it brief. Um, my best friend, I'm from Malibu and my best friend lived there. She got divorced, wanted to get her kids out of California and she wanted a house hunt in Tennessee.

She saw some beautiful farms online and so got her an agent and I came with her and we looked around and by the end of I think it was the second day of looking the agent took us down to Libra's Fork and we looked at two places down there and I'll never forget I turned and told her I'm going to live here one day. It was just >> you just felt it. >> I felt it like stronger than I had felt about anywhere else. And it's a it's an you can't explain it. It's intangible, but I just felt it. And I was married at the time.

Um, married to somebody else now, but married at the time. I called him and said, you know, you have to come here. I've never felt anywhere like this. And fast, he didn't feel the same way, and that's fine. Uh, but we eventually did get divorced. And when the divorce finalized, I didn't buy in Malibu or LA. um I bought out in leapers but had kids and couldn't live. I wasn't going to move their state.

And so, um, went back and forth, bought a house, like I said, um, Airbnbed it when we weren't there, and then we lived in it, uh, when we were there and did the back and forth for about 10 years until my youngest went to college and then moved out full-time and but in the licensing part was working in LA. Um, but I started flipping houses again. Took a little hiatus from that. Um everything was so expensive in LA. It just was the risk was way too high for me at that moment and but it wasn't that way in Tennessee.

So I decided, oh well, let me this Airbnb is going well. Let me buy a little house, work on that, then I can Airbnb that. So I did that. And so I did that once and I'm like this is stupid. I'm like can get my license and then not have to pay all these fees. got my license. Um, and then I could work buyers because I could fly in with them or meet them there, but I couldn't list anything until I was here on the ground. So, it was that was also very gradual. From about 2019 until 2022, I worked a lot of buyers and my own stuff.

And then when I moved here full-time, started listing. >> So, it was a slow um Yeah, it was like a slow journey to to build it brick by brick. >> Yes. Yes, definitely. >> So, you've described Libra's Fork as being like the best at Malibu but in the country. >> I like that that description. You've also said you're passionate about preserving what makes it special and there's a tension there. So, because you're one of the people bringing outside money in. So, tell me tell me about that.

Tell me how you >> how you you know kind of how you do that. >> Yeah, it's a really good question. And it's not so much about bringing all the money in. That's fine. It's the the part that I don't particularly love is the all the subdividing. And so you have these beautiful plots of land, these old farms, and land out there is expensive and for Tennessee standards. And when developers come in and they can legally break it down to 5 acre plots.

And so if you think about 100 acres down to even 20 acre plots, it completely changes the scenery. and the whole vibe. And you have these big lovely homes, but it breaks up that rolling farmland. So, that's what I try to preserve. And I really, really do my best to search for and find those buyers looking to preserve the land. And there's something called the Tennessee Land Trust um where it if you buy a property, you can build whatever you're going to build and then put it in a land trust.

and there's a big tax savings and but what can hap what it does is it goes on title and so any future owners cannot subdivide so there's good and bad to that you know it I >> so there's actual like like uh regulatory ways to preserve >> yes exactly it gives a land owner an incentive to keep the land intact and you know people want to make the most money that they can make That's just how it is.

But if I can find people who it's their dream to have a great big piece of land and a beautiful farm with rolling hills and horses and cows and whatever they want, or family compound, those are really popular right now, and the car barns and all that stuff. If I could find those people and can marry the land and them together, I'm really really happy. That's my That's my huge goal. >> You're finding the balance. >> Yes. try to Yeah. And you want to build a big, beautiful, expensive house, have at it.

Like if if if you're building a 15,000 foot house on 50 to 150 acres, it's not going to look really big, >> right? Yeah, that makes sense. >> You could have a guest house and a tennis court and, you know, all your stuff and build a lake and just build everything. It's going to be it's going to be beautiful. >> I would love to see this. I I grew up on the East Coast, but I've never been to Tennessee, so at some point I'm going to come check this out. I've always wanted to go to Nashville and I've never been there.

So, >> oh my gosh, you have to go. >> I know. And this conversation is gonna make me want to go even more. [laughter] >> So, >> but there's two. There's Nashville and then there's Franklin and there's and then there's Labra's four. And so, you have to do all three. >> Because they're all three very, very distinct personalities. >> Very cool. >> So, you're a solo agent, which blows my mind. You said that the hardest thing you ever had to learn was that it's it's okay not to do everything yourself.

>> But here you are. You've got a $24 million listing and a $33 million listing. So, there there has to be something that you've been a that you've had to hand off. And I want to know uh you know what that is and also what you'll never hand off no matter how big it gets. >> What I'll never hand off is that the hands-on white glove taking care of my clients. That is number one to me. Um everything is number one to me. That's the problem. Um So, I will have people help with marketing.

Um, Compass has great marketing people and I have also have somebody who does a lot of email blasts and different marketing things. Um, but again, they'll they'll do the groundwork, but I have my hand on every single thing that goes out. Um, have somebody who helps sometimes with social media. I do have an assistant. I mean, I can't be two places at once sometimes and everything else. Um, really better. I feel much better that you at least have an assistant. >> I do have an assistant. Yes. Yes. >> And I ironic.

Well, >> I very recently um have a transaction coordinator. I always did that too because again, the handing off thing. Well, first of all, it's not like I do 150 deals a year. And so, it was manageable. And because I'm so hands-on with my clients, it was just easier just to send them everything myself. because I'm talking to him. I'm like, "Hey, this is coming. You have any questions? Call me." So, it just worked out that way. But I have discovered that other people can do that probably better than me.

So, other people can do marketing and I could still have a say. >> Yeah. I' I've always felt and of course I'm generalizing everybody everybody's different but I feel like the people who are the best at the relationships and the you know the the making it you know being the rain makers are not necessarily the people that want to sit and look at every dotted eye and cross tea on on contracts and that there's other people that might be better at that than us.

I'm saying that because I'm actually like you have to look but um I'll tell you what was happening to me is I would be up at 6:30 in the morning and get all my that stuff done and my that would be my average day. Um well 6:30 is I do a devotional every morning. That's like how I keep saying and start my day. And then right after that, I won't open my computer until then. Until I'm done. And then open my computer, do my emails, and then I do all the paperwork and the transaction stuff.

And then the real day starts like when you have showings and everything else. And then at night, I would do work on a lot of the marketing stuff and hit and miss throughout the day. And I was just working too many darn hours a day. And so finally I did succumb to having help marketing transaction coordination but I still have really no intention of having a team and I'm just very selective with who I work with really nice people and people I like and I it's mainly referral based at this point which is nice and so that's really hard to hand off.

>> Well and it sounds like you don't need to. It sounds like it's it's working the way it is. Right. >> Um, is is Tennessee an attorney state? >> It's not necessarily an attorney state. We the title company who it they are attorneys like there's an attorney at the title company. They're the closing company, but we don't have like we do in California, >> right? So, so here in Oregon, we you know, it's not an attorney state.

So, we're doing all of the contracts and we have dozens and dozens of like dozens of pages, you know, with each sale. And that's why um you know for me I'm I'm I'm horrible at it. I'm such a big picture person that I absolutely had to have somebody as soon as possible >> making sure I didn't make a mistake on the contract. >> So >> I obsess I I read over a contract literally no less than five or six times because I'm so scared of making a mistake. >> And that's after Well, when I started it was three pages.

I don't even know how many pages we go through now. I just sent something through today and I think it was like 22. Not just the contract, but all the paperwork. >> yeah. I don't I'm sure there's downsides to being in an attorney state, but it really sounds nice to me to have an a separate person do all that. Like an attorney just like >> Yeah. When you work with somebody who has a business manager and or attorney, >> right, >> write the contract, but they review everything and it's just takes this weight off.

It's >> Yeah, >> it's nice, but we don't have that every deal. >> No. All right, so let's talk about what everyone wants to hear about. Dark Horse. >> Okay. >> Oh, yeah. Let's >> The seller The seller Robin Crow >> Yep. >> got dropped by the record label RCA at 39, >> bought 10 acres for $175,000 and spent 31 years >> turning it into Darkhorse. So here, like, how do you price this? How do you price something where part of the value is mythology?

Like it's not like you have um buyers showing up to you saying, you know, I want this much square footage, this many bedrooms, and I want Taylor Swift to have recorded music there, >> right? Um it wasn't really priced on that. I think that's a bonus. And we've had people look at it just for sheer single family residence. And then we've had investors who we we have two circling right now. They want to turn into a Taylor Swift museum. >> Uh, nobody mentioned that.

That would be a really how just to get the wax figures of >> That's a really interesting thought. Although I don't think it can get um zoning approved. >> Yeah. So, if you think about it, it's 24,000 square ft total under roof and that includes all the studio equipment, all the furniture, 10 acres. You have the river down there, quality construction, very unique 9 foot walls of glass, all this stuff. Thousand square foot is not an out of line price.

>> Okay, so it was that's how it was priced, not based on who had recorded there. That's definitely a perk and it definitely invites a different kind of buyer. Um, broadens the buyer pool a little bit. >> Yeah, it's such a cool I mean it's such an great story.

It's iconic and he has put his just I mean his it's his legacy and it started small and built you know you talk about anybody really who created their own legacy that you start small and you keep building and he just kept going and there's Darkhorse Institute as well which he created and built which is a a music school that's doing very very well >> amazing >> so yeah >> Taylor should do a drop in you know class there unannounced or something. >> That would be great. I wouldn't I wouldn't say no to that.

>> Like um I'm just I'm just suggesting things for her that she [laughter] >> uninterested in my opinion. Uninterested in my opinion of what she should do. Right. Okay. >> Um well, let's look at the other one. The Four Seasons penthouse. Um >> And make sure I'm saying this name correctly. It belongs to a Malibu broker. Another broker, right? Chris Cortazo. >> Exactly. Yeah.

And this is a very successful obviously because he owns the Four Seasons penthouse, a very successful broker in Malibu who's done billions in sales himself. So what is it like to list a property for someone who does your job at an extremely high level? Does he let you drive or does he try to take control? >> Well, Chris is a very very dear friend of mine and we started in the business together and had done many deals together in Malibu. So he knows me. He knows how I work. He knows he knows the drill. He trusts me.

I sold him other properties. Um, so he's fantastic client because he understands the business so well and obviously this is a a oneofone penthouse and he understands that it's, you know, it the buyer pool for that isn't huge and he's patient and he sees everything we're doing. It's co-listed like you said. Um, and he's very supportive and if he ever has any input or anything, he's very gracious about it. He's wonderful. He's just a great human being altogether. >> Awesome. >> So, you know, we we talk about days on market.

It's obviously very important. Um, affects price, you know, affects so many things, >> but you're at the very top of the market and and and it means something different. Um, you know, these things take a while naturally. Uh, so I want to know in in in this scenario when things are taking a while to sell at this level, how do you keep a seller confident and steady when the right buyer might literally be one person on the whole planet?

>> Well, hopefully more than that, but um >> I think it is more than that, but I'm just, you know, >> for example, sake. First of all, I think it's just managing their expectation from the get-go and letting them know that there aren't a lot of people who may want this particular property. Um, and so it's my job to go find them and to push it out to everybody I possibly can.

get it into the publications, get it into the podcast, get it in everywhere I can, the the local magazines, the national magazines, and also personal private networking like in Realm and in um I go to LA a good bit and I network with a lot of agents out there because I worked out there for so long and in New York and the different conferences and so it's word of mouth, um email, lots of email blasts to different people just keeping it fresh on their because maybe that client wasn't there 6 months ago, but all of a sudden somebody says, "Hey, you know, I'm really into music or my daughter's really into music.

Do you know of anything?" And it's just keeping it fresh on their minds. And I I don't give weekly reports generally on stuff like that. Um, but I definitely keep them updated and as long as they see everything I'm doing and it's, you know, it's black and white like I send the publications and everything. So, they're usually good. >> For listeners who want to check it out, how can they how can they go see these >> in person? >> Well, even online, like is there I mean >> uh my website, jamie-parson.com.

Um they're listed there and uh or email me. I'll send you the flip books. I'll send you whatever you want. >> Okay. At the end of this, we're going to make sure that you uh tell everybody how to get in touch with you. Exactly. >> Sure. um to do that. Uh because I want to go I'm definitely going to go to your website to go see it. >> Oh, you should. That's great. >> And if come to Nashville, I'll do a preview. >> Oh, would love to. We'll do. >> Um I want to know so you mentioned going to LA.

Um >> so talk to me about that. Like I know I know you were there for a long time, but >> is that part of your business? Like you go there to when you say you go there to network, kind of tell me what that's how you do that. For me, networking isn't just, oh, you go to an event and shake hands and wear a badge and share a business card. It's really going to dinner, going to lunch, keeping in touch. And it's friends as past clients. It's much more social. Um, that to me is networking.

But making a point to call people and making a point to, hey, I'm in town. Do you want to go grab a drink? You know, hey, I'm coming to town. Can I pop in your office?

I don't there's rarely a trip that I don't pop into Chris's office and you know we just hang out and we'll talk on the phone and he has other agents in his office and so it's keeping in touch like that definitely more social organically driven than you know hey I'm Jamie here's my business course >> it's more authentic >> more like a complete dork >> yeah going back to the days on market question it's it's probably easier with him in particular with the hen house because he knows what he knows what it's all about.

You know, >> he has $100 million listings and >> he doesn't expect it to sell in the first weekend. So, >> no. No. >> So, I want to know about if it's okay to ask this. I want to I want to know about proof of funds for these kind of deals because I'm sure there's a lot of scammers. There's fakes. You know, there there's agents who whose clients won't give it to you who are totally legit. Uh but again, there's scams that show up around high-end deals.

So, how do you verify that a $30 million buyer is real without insulting somebody who actually is? >> Well, somebody who actually does have the funds generally wouldn't get insulted because if they had a property, they would expect the exact same. And as far as verifying, you have to. Um, I had one not long ago. It was probably maybe 3 weeks ago, and they sent through the it was an agent. They sent through a bank statement and but I and it looked real and the lady's name was on it and but for some reason it was this address in Franklin.

I'm like that's a weird address. And so I called the bank and I said hey just verifying that this person has an account and they looked it up and they said can you spell it? Long story short, no account, no anything. And told the agent and it it they it was completely fake. So, you you have to verify. And I've had clients who I've had clients who send me screenshots of their bank. I've had clients who say, "You know what? Have them Google me. I don't want to go through the hassle.

I'm not going to borrow bother my business manager." Um, and then I will accept that as well. If it's somebody who's Googable and they give me the client name, then I'm totally fine with that. I can tell my client, hey, it's this person. They know they have the money. So, um, but if an agent says, "Oh, they're, you know, I have an NDA. I can't tell you who the client is. I can't send proof of funds. I can't do anything." Usually, I say, "I'm so sorry.

It's it's I, you know, I I can't show it." >> That person, going back to the person who who didn't have the account and the whole thing is fake, like what's the angle? Is it just that they they just want to tour or like is there some sort that out? There are I I can't tell you how many people will come up with these elaborate stories and usually they come direct without an agent. Sometimes it's with an agent and the agent does their due diligence.

There's nothing on the agent, but these people are really good and they're getting better, which is scary. Uh like that bank statement looked really real and it was just the address that that made me question it. But um no, they'll I have no idea.

It's it's a psychosis actually a friend of mine >> unless it's someone >> obsessive Taylor Swift fan who who just wants to see Dark Horse like I don't I don't get the angle you know >> I know or like feeling important is what I was going to say an agent friend of mine we were discussing it because we would get the same people and then we all talk too it's like oh if this person contacts you just so you know they're not real or we will sort of warn each other.

Um cuz usually if they're looking at something of mine, they're or something in a $15 to $25 million range, they're looking at everything or calling everything. And so we kind of do tip each other off. Um but no, there's some elaborate stories and I'm I'm the what was it recently?

uh it was for the penthouse and it he was the purchasing attorney for a very wealthy client in the Middle East and like okay great who's the client like and just oh well I can't say that and you know and then I called some other people and they're like oh no no he called me too he's complete fraud so I have no idea >> yeah but gotta be careful >> okay so the other thing I'm really excited to ask you about is that you told my team that you have two amazing stories about death and deals One about moving graves, which I got to know about that.

And then one about a seller who died 20 minutes before signing. >> Yeah, about that. >> The buyer was in route with a moving truck. So, take your time. >> That's my buyer. [laughter] >> Oh no. Oh my god. I'm so sorry. >> Uh well, that one that was crazy. Yeah, it was somebody who an older woman. Her husband passed away. Uh and she was selling the family house. They were going to she was going to go into a nursing home. I had the buyer and everything was great. Spec quick escrow. Um I still say escrow.

We don't do escrow here, but um and he was literally packed up. He was moving from out of state ready to go. You like have the truck taken across country. And um got a call. I was still in California. Um got a call at like 5 in the morning, which would have been 7 in the morning here, saying, "Hey, we have a problem." Like what? And it turns out that the seller that notary was going to the seller to have them sign and the buyer already signed everything. Money was it. Um and she passed away and it had to go to probate.

I mean nobody really knew quite what to do. We're just like talking to me I and the client said looked at me and said well what happens now? I'd be like I have no idea and neither does anybody else I know. You know what I said? I'm like, I'm going to have to get back to you. >> Okay, that's a better that's a better way to answer that than what I >> and I'm googling like crazy. What happens if cuz nobody's really working yet and it was too early. Couldn't call title.

Couldn't, you know, I wasn't going to call my broker at 7 in the morning. Um, so yeah. And >> what did happen with that? >> So it it had to go to probate even though they did have a trust and a will. It had to go to probate to make sure everybody was paid off um first prior to selling the house. And I think I think it was maybe four months delay, but the buyer had to move. I mean, they were they were out. They had to move. And so he bought something else, closed it really fast.

And it he bought something that he's really really happy now that that didn't happen because what he bought he's much more happy with. So things for a reason. >> Yeah. So, so during COVID here, I mean maybe this is the same for you. It was so wild and and um you know it was just off the charts demand. >> Sometimes we would write on 10 houses in a row, >> 10 15 houses that they that they would lose out on. >> But then whenever they got a house, they would be like saying that they're so glad the other 10 didn't work out.

>> Exactly. Always. >> Yes. And >> I couldn't figure out like how could that be possible? And what I realized was they were what they were doing was they were with each house they were comparing it. The next one had to be at least as good as the one they just lost or better. And it just it just kept improving, you know, >> right? >> So I wonder if that's what happened. He was like, "Okay, it has to be at least as good as the other one." >> It was it was a better house. It was a better house.

It was timing, you know, happened for a reason. >> And he's he was very happy. >> I mean, he wasn't happy that that happened. It was very stressful. >> He was that wasn't co and he did lose several prior >> and he literally was like two weeks all cash like anything like I need a house >> and he he got one that he loves he's still there and that was Yeah. Like I said during co >> Okay. Yeah. Well, that's great. I'm very happy that worked out well for him.

>> And and so I've not had um ever talked to anybody who's had to move graves in a transaction. Oh, right. >> Well, we didn't actually end up moving them. And this was, you know, every single deal I learned something. And I have been saying that forever. And it just shocks me that after this long, every single deal I learned something. So, I learned all about grave moving laws in Tennessee during this transaction.

It was a farm, a beautiful farm, and it was a family plot because a lot of times there's, you know, they're legacy farms. And it wasn't a for sale, but the kids were selling for a reason. And there were uh two of them. And one of the siblings was moving to another farm and wanted to take her parents, who it was, with her. >> Wow. >> And they were buried. And the sell, sorry, the I was representing the buyer. The buyer was fine with that and actually would have preferred that.

Not that they he was fine with them on the property, but was just concerned about people coming and going and visiting and cuz he would have to allow that. So, um, it almost broke the deal, but we were able to keep it together. And so what I learned is that in Tennessee, if all parties agree to relocate, family members, family members from the past, you can do it, but they all have to agree. And one of the parties didn't agree.

And then it was and that's what almost like broke the deal was they couldn't agree, but then um she gave in and they're still there. is is I don't want to say common, but is that something occasionally that people bury their loved ones on their property in Tennessee? >> In the past, yeah, those graves all over the place. I mean, there's probably I think there's um I had to look this up fairly recently. It was something like 800 known grave sites in Williamson County. And but they're on large farms usually.

And a lot of times you'll see them there'll be a little fence or something and it's not it could be it could be two people it could be 20 people generally not that many and then there's a mark graves um which I personally haven't had to deal with but I had a neighbor of a client who had to deal with it and they bought a piece of land and they were going to build on it but it turns out there was an unmarked cemetery there and so they couldn't build >> an entire cemetery. >> Well, not entire cemetery.

Um I but it would probably be we don't know. I mean they're all unmarked, but they couldn't build there. And so in cases like that, you can you can hire a company. And this again, something I learned. >> My question was going to be, okay, we're used to we're used to getting plumbers and everything for for our clients, >> Yeah. Right. is somebody's business moving these graves. >> Um, I don't know about moving them, but it is somebody's business finding if they're there or not. >> And they do it. It's not thermography.

It's um they they go over it with um some machine and they can find if there's any old bones or anything on it. But they would do that in Malibu, too, because that was shoe mash country.

And so if you were in escrow on a piece of land before well before you can build you have to have it approved by archaeology and um before you would close escrow on it you want that approved because it can hold you up for two years if the shoe mesh have to come out and do their whole thing and um so you just yeah kind of want to make sure >> let's um let's just >> let's just you know add this to the list of uh the thousands of reasons why AI can never replace us. Yeah. Right.

>> I mean, I wonder what AI would say about >> I'm sorry, but like the the number of things that we have to coordinate um Yes. >> Just no robot's ever going to do that. >> No. And also, no robot is ever Well, no computer is ever going to know the land or see the signs or know what's across the street or anything like that. >> Yeah. I like recognizing our job security in that way. [laughter] I do too. >> Okay. So, let's talk about um your your house flipping.

Um you've been doing that for a while since 94 and and you have experience in short-term rental. >> Um you know, most agents, you know, a lot of agents do that, but but most have not. They've never carried a mortgage on a project >> or dealt with a really bad guest at two in the morning. So, how does having actually owned the risk change the advice you give to people? Um it well advice for flipping just do your numbers. You know there's no there's no guaranteed outcome. Um I was doing a house.

It was a larger house and so it was a risk and 9/11 happened and it's like and there's nothing you could do about world events but stock market crashes. Like there's nothing you can do except either hold on to it or cut your losses and move on. And I've been very very fortunate that I haven't had any big losses. But um yeah, it's do your numbers. Give yourself >> do your numbers. Do can you in a sort of brief way like kind of share what your process is? Like how do you do your numbers? >> Uh well I I give that advice.

[laughter] my process if I absolutely love it and become obsessed with it and see this vision of it that I have to do this house like I cannot wait to get my hands on it and what could I sell it for if I do what I think I can do. Um and then roughly what is the budget and AI has been helpful with that I got to say um it will give you rough numbers on things where I would have to really do deep dives and call people and stuff like that. So that's AI is good for that. So, does that turn out to be at least somewhat accurate for you?

>> Um, somewhat what >> accurate like like you're saying you're saying you put into AI like, hey, I want to do this and this and this to this house. I'm assuming you have to it's location dependent also. >> It is. It is. And I will say that Chad GBT is higher than Claude. I would say Claude is more accurate. >> Interesting. And I'm not a big AI person, but I do I have fairly recently done like over the last year a lot of research on different things like that. And I would do only chat GBT because that's what I was using.

And I'm like this is this isn't accurate. There's no way. And so my >> coming too high with chat. >> They're coming in way too high. Yeah. >> Interesting. Okay. >> Unrealistic. I'm like have I been out of the game that long that like stuff costs this much? I'm like it cannot be. And so then I ran it through Claude. I'm like, "Okay, that feels better." And it was just more realistic and but you can also I do a lot of stuff shockingly myself. I just I love I love doing houses and so yeah, back to the numbers.

Um I get a rough estimate. It all es and flows because I honestly have a general idea of what I'm doing when I go in and I try to get things that I don't need an architect. If I can do it without permits, fantastic. Um, I like remodeling versus like and I've torn down I built on raw land. Um, but it's a long process, but I really really love the design part of it and that just takes a long time to get to.

>> [clears throat] >> So, um, if you don't need an architect, it's pretty if you've done it enough, um, plumbing, electrical, roofing, you know, anything like that. Even changing a roof line, sometimes you can get away with, maybe you need a little structural, but that's not that hard. Um, and just having a general idea of what I'm getting into and then carrying costs and closing costs added up. Is there is this higher than this? And if it is, I will try to pull the trigger.

>> Love and really really good insight into Claude versus Trans GBT for that. That's that's interesting. >> So Jamie, you said that you never want to have any ifonies. So after 30 years, Two Coast, and selling the studio where Taylor Swift made her first record, are there any ifonies that you're still chasing? >> Oh my gosh, how many? Um, chasing. I mean, that's kind of like a I just Okay, your podcast. It's like, oh my gosh, I don't I like I get shy sometimes, believe it or not.

Um, it's like, oh, if I don't do it, you know, I I don't want to say, oh, if only I did that. So, that's just kind of my like, if only I did this or if only I did that. But my one if only and it's always in the back of my mind and it has nothing to do with real estate um is this book that I wrote and it's a middle-grade novel um I I used to write songs and then I wrote this middle-rade novel and I was very passionate about it and it's pretty much done.

and it's been to editors and I started sending it out um to different publishing houses and started getting traction and then I got slammed and so real estate took over and I had to put it aside um which is fine because it's not going away. I could do it at any time. So that is one if only that I'm going to get it done at some point. >> That is fascinating. And um now that you said it on the podcast, you have to go finish this, >> right? Oh my god, I just made myself accountable, huh? Yeah, you're available to all of us now.

[clears throat] >> And then you'll come back on the podcast to talk about your novel that you've just released. [laughter] >> You got it. Jamie, thank you so much for doing this. This has been awesome. Really, really fun to talk to you. >> Thank you so much. >> Please tell everybody how to find you. >> Yeah. So, uh, phone number 310584008. website, jamie-parsons.com. Instagram, uh, it's James spelled weird. J A M S3, the number three.

And >> right, everybody, go to the website and check out these amazing listings Jamie has. >> Thank you so much. I really appreciate you. >> Thank you, Jamie. >> Bye. If you enjoyed this conversation, be [music] sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who would find value in it. For more conversations on leadership, business, real estate, [music] and building what's next, follow along and connect with us online. Until next time, keep raising your standards and keep owning your next chapter.